Answer the Chase
by JYLG
Summary: Minoru Tokitoh is not stupid, just a little slow. And endearingly so.
1. Answer the Chase 1

Executive Committee belongs to Kazuya Minekura.

Answer the Chase 1

Tokitoh Minoru was not one to mince words. Blunt and honest almost to a fault, he was not stupid, just reckless and impulsive. He had no patience for and saw no reason to meddle in the sly subtlety and bandying of words that the student council played at. That was, after all, what Kubo-chan was for. 

So he thought nothing of the question that was asked him after phys. ed. that afternoon, nor of his own reflexive answer. "Of course." Stacking the last of the floor mats in the corner, he turned around and blinked. He'd hardly paid attention to the sounds of movement behind him, had assumed it was just Satsuke and a couple of other girls putting the rest of the sports equipment away. He blinked again after a quick, cursory sweep of the faces now clustered and jostling for position at the double doors to the storeroom. He hadn't realized there were that many girls in 3-C. 

Shifting unconsciously into an almost defensive stance, Tokitoh scowled irritably. If they'd been there all the time, why the hell had Satsuke dragged him off in the first place to help with the cleanup on the girls' side?

"You don't deny it then, Tokitoh-kun?" What was with Satsuke's weird grin? "No – should I?" She tossed a smug wink over her shoulder at the 'oohs' and 'aahs' at his reply. Tokitoh was further confused by the gamut of expressions that confronted him: glee, disappointment, disbelief, amusement… shrugging off the peculiarities of girls, he stepped forward, done with cleanup duty, and paused in comic incredulity when the seething female mass surged towards him. "What the – geh, lay off! Oy, what the hell?!"

"It's true then!"

"But he's not being serious! Look at him!"

"Oh, please! It's so obvious."

"Hah, I knew it all along!"

Wha...? The frenetic babbling lost on him, Tokitoh manfully pushed his way through – or tried to. Where were the doors again? Not quite able to see above the maniacal bobbing of heads, he growled under his breath, unpleasantly reminded yet again of his painfully diminutive stature. 

"Hey, ease up will ya? How 'bout a little room?" He flinched away from the chorus of "But Tokitoh-kuuuun!!" and vainly wished he were just that couple of inches taller, enough to intimidate or at least see over the horde dammit. As it was they were that close to glomping him. Grimly thinking of black holes and the point of no return, Tokitoh growled in frustration. "Geeze, what's the big deal with me and –"

 "Sumimasen." Deep but almost singsong, it could have been a word of magic, so abrupt was the hush that had fallen, and as Tokitoh watched in disbelief, the girls retreated, parting fluidly to give him a clear escape route to the doors. _Damn, he's good._

One casual shoulder against the doorframe, Kubota Makoto pushed his glasses up slightly, the only hint of his amusement a faint twitch of his lips. "Aa, Tokitoh. Tatsuo said you'd be in here. Are you – " he gestured vaguely, tilting his head as if to better appreciate his friend's predicament " – finished?" 

Tokitoh grimaced. Damn, Kubo-chan wasn't going to let him live it down; boxed in by a bunch of girls. Even as he grumbled his feet were already moving. Kubota straightened from his slouch, and not for the first time Tokitoh marveled, glumly and with reluctant envy, at his friend's height. No, Kubo-chan didn't have to pick his way through the mob that was the student body of Araiso Private High. He didn't have to, not with people more often than not scrambling to get out of his path. He was intimidating **and **he could see over everyone else. Damn, some guys just had it all.

As if to add insult to the injury, Kubota slung an arm over Tokitoh's shoulders, the latter being of a comfortably short height. "So Tokitoh-kun..." Kubo-chan's breath touched his ear in a whisper only he could hear, and the smaller boy turned his head slightly to glare at the mocking drawl on the suffix to his name. Kubo-chan knew he hated it when he called him that. "A bevy of adoring fangirls falling over each other to worship at your feet – a favourite daydream come true for you, I'm sure." 

Tokitoh scowled. "Jerk." It was getting a little too warm – he was hitting the showers next. Kubota bowed his head a little in acknowledgement of the slur, and Tokitoh rolled his eyes when his friend smiled absently in some general direction at the girls. "Pay attention, Kubo-chan. Better watch where you're going before you trip up and go down."

"My well-being is in your hands. If I fall, I'm taking you with me." And Tokitoh huffed in annoyance. "Get off a bit. It's too hot."

"Aa yes, fighting your fans must have been quite the effort."

"Ha ha, you can be so funny. What about you, lazy ass? You wandered off before the last whistle, and conveniently left the cleanup to everyone else."

"Cruel of you to say so, Tokitoh**-kun**. True, but cruel."

"Don't **call **me that!!"

And Kubota's chuckle was a rich, lighthearted sound that had the abandoned girls sighing wistfully until the bickering duo left the school hall, and the air in the storeroom exploded in a flurry of wails and demands.

"Hah, pay up, he said yes!" Satsuke crowed and rubbed her hands together in mercenary triumph as she snaked her way through the group to collect her winnings.

"But you can't be sure. He was so – so _callous_ about it!"

"Not callous – just, just _comfortable! It's so obvious!"_

"And Tokitoh-kun's not stupid – he can't be _that _deaf to what everyone else says."

"But you know how he is sometimes – he could be laughing it up now, like it's some big joke to him."

It was fortunate that the person in question was not there to witness the dark malcontent start to brew as the noise subsided and the mass paused as one to ominously consider painful ways of paying back such petty behaviour. 

"But don't they live together?"

And just as swiftly as it had descended, the grim atmosphere was dispelled, and Satsuke went her merry way pocketing her cash.

TBC


	2. Answer the Chase 2

Answer the Chase 2

"Ne, we could ask Kubota-kun."

The can almost slipped from Tetsuo's grip as he spluttered, earning him patiently tolerant looks from the huddle of girls in front.

"You think it's a good idea?"

"You want a straight answer, don't you?"

Tetsuo made a small sound of disbelief. Apparently it wasn't discreet enough, when the heads whipped around to give him more hostile glares. Self-preserving instincts kicked in, but he manfully resisted the impulse to cover his head. On the other hand, it didn't stop him contemplating retreat, something he should've done earlier on as soon as he'd realized what they were conferring about. Damn the fallacies of pride, it wasn't worth the questionable dignity of staying put in his seat.

Kubota was anything but a 'straight answer' kind of person. Neither was now-council president Matsumoto. The third year wise guy from two years back hadn't been the only person to put two and two together, but he was the only moron who'd taunted Kubota with it. It had been a spectacular free-for-all, and the talk for the rest of the week; unassuming, bespectacled first year Kubota Makoto gaining instant infamy after landing his senpai and a host of inferior underlings in the school ward.

Something of his musings must have shown on his face, when he realized that the girls were still staring at him. Hastily rearranging his grimace into some semblance of blandness, Tetsuo was prepared to withdraw as subtly as possible, when Satsuke lunged out to snag his sleeve, and asked in tones of great suspicion, "Tetsuo-kun, do you know something that we don't?"

"No. Let go." And of course, it was the worst possible thing to say, girls being the terribly contradicting creatures that they are. He tried not to let his horror show as they collected themselves as one to swarm around his own desk.

"So is it true or not? About Tokitoh-kun and –"

"No! I don't know! No idea!" Tetsuo cut them off with frantic shakes of his head as he tugged vainly at the unbelievable grip on his arm. If they didn't voice it out loud, he could pretend the question didn't exist. He didn't want to think about it, because when he did, he had to think about the other rumours that had begun anew after Tokitoh Minoru transferred to Araiso High in their second year.

Not that he paid them any attention of course; rumours came and went as soon as they were proven true or false. Some were idiotic, some were dull, and all weren't worth chewing on.

But Kubota wasn't a 'straight answer' kind of guy, and Tokitoh was… well, he'd never dare call Tokitoh dense, just… uninformed.

"You know something." Kari's eyes were still narrowed in distrust, and Tetsuo fervently wished himself far away. "No, what makes you think that?"

"You would know, wouldn't you? You're a guy, after all." He stared at Mikihisa. What kind of dumb logic was that? She scowled at his sad ignorance. "You probably hear stuff that we don't, and his desk is next to yours. You're chummy with Kubota-kun, aren't you?"

Who the hell tried 'chummy' with Kubota? Respected definitely. And feared assuredly among the poor saps who'd messed about on the wrong side of the Exec Comm. Kubota was likeable enough in that I-don't-poke-my-nose-into-your-business-you-stay-out-of-mine way. He intimidated because he was a mean fighter and devious negotiator, and he intrigued because no one knew anything else. He could smile and laugh and say something and stay serenely aloof and hide everything. Tokitoh did most of the talking, boasting and challenging and meaning every word of it. He did most of the quarreling too; the loud bits, anyway. Kubota would match him retort for retort, and Tokitoh would finally scowl and punch him in the chest, and it couldn't have been hard enough if Kubota was still standing and holding on to Tokitoh's wrist and saying something too soft for anyone else to hear –

"…Tetsuo-kun, is there something wrong?"

"…no."

"You just smacked yourself over the head."

"…can you let go of me now please?"

Releasing his arm, Satsuke peered warily into his face. "I think you're turning green."

"…"

Shrugging, the observation was blithely waved aside, and the girls leaned in closer with something eerily akin to predatory intent. "So, Tetsuo-kun –"

"No," he snapped, and this time he managed not to cringe at the dark frowns. "I'm the last person who knows and the last one who **wants **to know, okay? Go look for someone else – just not Kubota."

"Just not me what?"

It was, undoubtedly, the most magnificent stunt Tetsuo had ever pulled off, never mind the lurching in his gut. Tetsuo didn't skip a beat, and supremely maintained a straight face when the gaggle around his desk drew back enough to let him see the last person he wanted to see. "The girls wanted to ask you something."

 "Oh?" Kubota dropped into his seat languidly: smooth, silent and at his own unhurried pace. Tetsuo didn't wonder that they'd miss him returning to the class from wherever he'd been.

"What did you want to know?" Kubota leaned back in his chair, head tilted in mild curiosity, and Tetsuo relaxed slightly, no longer completely fazed by the poisonous glowers that promised later retribution. Right now, he simply felt vindicated. He allowed himself a small grin as the girls flushed and floundered and sneaked furtive looks at each other. For all their speculating, when it came down to the crunch, no one wanted to rub Kubota the wrong way round.

"We – we were wondering if you knew where Tokitoh-kun was." Tetsuo hid his now too-wide grin behind his hands. If Kubota recognised the poor attempt for what it was, he didn't let on. He leaned back further, until his eyes met the ceiling.

"Suyama-san wanted to see him." Tetsuo sat up, the grin fading into some concern. The girls stirred with a different kind of interest. "Why? Is something wrong? What does the principal want?"

Kubota shrugged, his expression bland. "Saa ne…" He turned his head and smiled. "So… what was it you wanted to ask?" And Tetsuo wanted to groan in frustration when the bell shrilled the end of recess. He had never seen anyone or anything scatter so fast. True vindication indeed. Relieved, he settled back into his seat, only belatedly realizing that, while the rest of his classmates found their places, Tokitoh's chair was still empty.

"Hey, Kubota."

"Hmm?"

"Is Tokitoh really alright? It's nothing big, is it?"

Kubota shrugged again. "Who knows? I don't keep tabs on him." And Tetsuo wanted to smack himself over the head again. Shit, the one thing he had been convincing himself to not think about.

"…Tetsuo?" Brooding, he glanced up, and his brow immediately furrowed in mounting alarm and wariness. Kubota's eyes were glimmering with thoughtful amusement, and it shouldn't have been scary, but it was.

"What did the girls want to ask?"

Tetsuo's head hitting his desk was an audible thunk.

TBC


End file.
